What is the best sleep aid?

June 21, 2018

Good sleep, a balanced diet and regular physical exercises are the pillars of good health. One in three suffer from sleep conditions and many look for external solutions to cope with this issue. Let us explain you the benefits and inconvenients of each one.

Sleeping Pills

Sleeping pills might be a short-term relief for those suffering from insomnia. It’s important to be aware of the possible side-effects and risk of dependency though. Most of the medications available on the market fall into the ‘sedative hypnotics’ category.

Benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Librium) are anti-anxiety medications that increase drowsiness and help people sleep. While useful in the short term, they are potentially addictive and may have undesirable side-effects, including memory and attention issues.

Barbiturate is another sedative-hypnotic drug that depresses the central nervous system, causing sedation. This kind of drug is much less prescribed by the doctors since it’s overdose might be fatal. The deaths of several celebrities, Marilyn Monroe amongst them, were attributed to barbiturate.

The side-effects of sleeping pills might include daytime drowsiness, headaches, unusual dreams, constipations, changes in appetite and the risk of dependency. This class of medication should always be prescribed by your doctor in the most extreme cases and used for short periods of time only.

Sleep Aids

People looking for alternatives should try natural sleep aids, coming mostly in the form of supplements.

Melatonin is a naturally-produced hormone alerting your brain when it’s time to fall asleep. Our circadian cycle controls the release of this hormone based on the light conditions and temperature. People who suffer from a disrupted cycle, when traveling to a different time zone for exemple, might benefit from this supplement. While it is proven to be safe in the short-term, there hasn’t been any long-term studies.

Moona works on the same principle but stimulates your body to produce this hormone, a more natural way and less prone to long-term side-effects.

Sleep Trackers

Avoiding certain foods before sleep, consuming less alcohol and caffeine, regulating the light and temperature of your sleep environment and sticking to a sleep schedule. The quality of sleep comes from good sleep habits.

Trackers are able to detect your sleep patterns and provide feedback over time. Being able to follow your progress will motivate you to change, and more importantly, stick with your new habits.

Moona not only has an embedded sleep tracker, it also contains environmental sensors to measure sound levels, light and temperature. The mobile application works as a sleep advisor. It combines your sleep tracking data, environmental data and your personal feedback to provide personalized sleep tips and help you form good habits.

Sleep enhancing Devices

While sleep trackers work passively, other devices are actively trying to improve sleep. Some function by changing the environmental lightning, temperature or emitting scents to improve your sleep.

Those devices improve certain conditions to reduce the time to fall asleep or ensure a better sleep quality through the night. Even though they can have a positive impact in your night, most of those devices are flawed by design.

Sleep is very personal. Some people are morning persons, while others function better in the evening. Similarly, the amount of sleep we need can vary widely. To increase the complexity of the problem, those characteristics change over time. Teenagers need more sleep than adults. Most sleep enhancing devices don’t take those variables into consideration.

Moona is the only sleep device to improve its efficiency over time, thanks to our machine-learning algorithm based on your sleep data. We provide personalized tips and continuously tweak our temperature settings for each use.

Having good night’s sleep can improve your overall quality of life and health. If you suffer from sleep disturbances, it’s important to know benefits and risks of each option before choosing a treatment. Always consult a doctor to investigate the underlying causes of your sleep issues, which may be a symptom of other diseases.